Close relationships may slow Alzheimer's

BALTIMORE - A close relationship to a caregiver may slow decline in an Alzheimer's patient, U.S. researchers say.

A report published in The Journals of Gerontology Series B:

Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences suggests the patient-caregiver relationship may directly influence pro- gression of Alzheimer's disease. The beneficial effect of emotional intimacy the researchers saw among participants was on par with some drugs used to treat the disease. The researchers examined 167 pairs of caregivers and Alzheimer's patients -- residents of Utah's Cache County.

Quotes for the Soul

Selenium study may lead to new antibiotics

Selenium study may lead to new antibiotics

• ORLANDO, Fla. - U.S. scientists have found new attributes of the trace mineral selenium that may lead to new antibiotics for conditions such as diarrhea and tooth decay. University of Central Florida Associate Professor William Self said selenium is found in a number of proteins in both bacterial cells and human cells called selenoproteins. Self said his research shows interrupting the way selenoproteins are made can halt the growth of the super bug Clostridium difficile, which leads to a spectrum of illnesses ranging from severe diarrhea to colitis, which can cause death, as well as Treponema denticola, a major contributor to gum disease. The key discovery occurred when Self's team found the drug Auranofin, used to treat arthritis, changed the manner in which the body uses selenium. That chemical reaction, they said, prevents bacteria from using selenium to grow. "It's the proof of principle that we are excited about," Self said.

• "No one has ever tried this approach, and it could poten- tially be a source for new narrow spectrum antibiotics that block bacteria that require selenium to grow." The findings appear in the May issue of the Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry and the June issue of the Journal of Bacteriology.

Aminogen

New DNA compounds could help treat lupus

New DNA compounds could help treat lupus

• IOWA CITY, Iowa - A U.S. research team led by the University of Iowa says it has created DNA-like compounds that inhibit the cells responsible for developing lupus. Using human cell lines and isolated mouse cells, Dr. Petar Lenert, an assis- tant professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa, said he and his colleagues showed the DNA-like com- pounds were able to selectively reduce the activity of two types of immune cells called autoreactive B cells and den- dritic cells. When given to mice with lupus, the compounds delayed death and reduced kidney damage, proving their effectiveness. "With further testing, we hope that class R inhibitory oligonucleotides may become another weapon in the fight against lupus," Lenert said in a release. The study, which included researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine, is reported in the journal Arthritis Research and Therapy.

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